January 2020 — Page 4 of 13 — Human Rights & Charity

End discrimination against women and children affected by leprosy

“Too many women and children affected by leprosy – also known as Hansen’s disease – are victims of stereotypes, physical and verbal abuse, delays of diagnosis and lack of adequate care”, declared Alice Cruz, UN Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members.

The UN expert expressed concern over the “complete lack of specific plans by States to address the particular needs of women and children affected by leprosy and to end discrimination and violence against them”.

Citing institutional reasons, Ms. Cruz’s last report said that too many cases of women and children who are affected, go underreported.

Although their immature immune systems appear to be more prone to leprosy, some 10 to 20 per cent of children stop taking medicines because available treatments are simply not appropriate for their age.

Moreover, almost half of affected women experience depression and/or suicidal thoughts.

“Affected people are not only those left furthest behind, they are actively being kept out of the agenda, out of history,” she said.

Discriminatory practices endure

Affected people and their families have been “systematically subjected to dehumanization in different cultural backdrops”, according to Ms. Cruz.

“Stigmatization remains institutionalized in the States’ architecture and functioning”, she said, noting that over 50 countries have hundreds of discriminatory laws against leprosy-affected people.

The UN expert welcomed improvements in the response of some Governments, including in awareness-raising activities, campaigns to improve detection and early diagnosis, and access to treatment.

Nevertheless, she regretted that too many States with high incidence rates and discriminatory laws did not reply to her requests for visits or had they yet arranged a visit, months after they accepted her request.

“States must abolish all discriminatory laws and implement the Principles and guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members,” Ms. Cruz said, also calling for more inclusion of leprosy-affected women and children in the decision-making processes impacting their lives.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. They are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

UN heath agency: Time is now to 'act as one' in fighting infectious coronavirus

The evolving outbreak that began in China is “a sign that every country needs to be ready to timely detect and manage outbreaks of any type”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.

Virus infections have now been reported on four continents, including in Australia, France and the United States, among recent travelers to China. Several other countries in Asia have reported cases as well.

On Friday, France officially notified the WHO Regional Office for Europe of three confirmed cases – two in Paris and one in Bordeaux. All of them had travelled from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, and are now hospitalized in France.

“Timely action is fundamental for early containment”, underscored WHO, commending France for quickly notifying WHO and rapidly issuing a public communication, saying that it not only exemplified the proper steps forward, but also illustrated “an example of global collaboration and solidarity”.

WHO maintained that the first confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Europe were not unexpected.

“They remind us that the global nature of travels exempts no country from infectious disease spread”, WHO stated. “This also means that no country can afford postponing the establishment of all necessary measures to protect their people”.

More than 1,300 cases have been confirmed worldwide, and 41 people have died, including a 62-year-old doctor at a Wuhan hospital who contracted the virus from a patient, according to State media.

At a time of uncertainty about how the virus originated and behaves, WHO spells out that “it is even more critical that countries, organizations and the international community act as one”.

“We need to move as one region, as one world in scaling up our ability to prepare and respond together”, said the statement.

“The time is now to make ourselves ready”, said WHO, adding that, together with Chinese authorities, it is doing everything it can to investigate the outbreak.

Although the virus’ behavior remains unpredictable, the UN health agency upheld that “today we are offered a window of opportunity; today we must grab it to make the region and the world safer”.

A busy year in the UN Security Council: more openness, diversity mark 2019

Here are some key figures for the world’s top peace and security body last year:

243 public meetings held – an average of 21 per month
93 meetings on situations in Africa
52 resolutions adopted
25 meetings on Syria crisis
2 new field missions established (support for the ceasefire in Yemen; an integrated UN Office in Haiti)
1 new agenda item added (‘the situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’)

On three occasions last year, sharply divided delegations presented competing draft resolutions, which resulted in the rejection of six proposed texts. China, France, Russia, UK and the US – the Council’s five veto-wielding permanent members – found themselves particularly at odds over questions of State sovereignty, trading sporadic accusations of interference in domestic affairs.

This is just a snapshot of the Council’s work in 2019 pulled from the annual round-up prepared by our hard-working colleagues in the Meetings Coverage section of the Department of Global Communications (DGC), who provide on-the-day summary coverage of the work of the main UN bodies at Headquarters, as well as of major conferences away from the house.

For an in-depth review of all the action in the Council last year, please go here.

Deadly earthquake kills dozens in Turkey, UN stands in solidarity and offers support

“The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the people and Government of Turkey”, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement issued on Saturday. “He wishes those injured a speedy recovery”.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, AFAD, said that 25 people were killed in Elazig province – some 465 miles east of the capital, Ankara – and four in the neighbouring province of Malatya.

And the country’s Health Minister recorded more than 1,450 injured people.

State media in Syria and Iran both reported feeling tremors in their countries, and local media in Lebanon said that Beirut and Tripoli also felt the quake.

More than 400 aftershocks have been recorded, 14 of which had magnitudes over 4.0, according to AFAD.

Hundreds of residents were left homeless or with damaged homes as rescue teams from neighboring provinces worked throughout the night with floodlights, using their hands, drills and mechanical diggers to remove bricks and plaster from collapsed buildings in search of survivors.

“The United Nations expresses its solidarity with Turkey and has offered support”, concluded Mr. Dujarric.

FROM THE FIELD: Niger supporting the most vulnerable, as crises mount

Currently, around 10 per cent of the population of the West African country, around 2.3 million people, requires humanitarian aid to survive.

Conflict, climate change and the arrival of refugees from neighboring countries have all combined to drive up the number of people who are not getting enough to eat, in what is already one of the world’s poorest nations.

But now, the Nigerien government, with the support of UN agencies, is helping the most vulnerable people.

The UN humanitarian agency’s Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ursula Mueller, recently travelled to Niger to meet some of the those who are benefitting. Read more about their stories here.

Haiti cholera outbreak ‘stopped in its tracks’

This was achieved following concerted efforts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Haitian Government and others, to address the root causes of cholera.

“Cholera is a disease of inequity that unduly sickens and kills the poorest and most vulnerable people – those without access to clean water and sanitation,” said PAHO Director, Dr. Carissa F. Etienne.

The last confirmed case was a boy under age five in I’Estère in the Artibonite department of Haiti during the last week of January 2019.

He was admitted to hospital on the 24 of January last year and recovered shortly thereafter.

Motorbike strategy key

Rapid detection and testing are key to controlling outbreaks.

PAHO and the Haitian Ministry of Health’s Labo Moto project, which enables field nurses to move rapidly around the field by motorcycle, carrying samples from treatment centers to laboratories, has increased testing rates from 21 per cent in 2017, to 95 per cent two years later.

“Death from cholera is preventable with tools that we have today but to ensure that cholera remains a distant memory, we must also accelerate investments in clean water and adequate sanitation in Haiti”, stated Dr. Etienne.

Labo Moto is part of a three-step strategy to ensure that all suspected cases from high-risk areas are tested; random patient sampling with diarrhoea is taken in all areas of the country; and event-based surveillance is carried out by epidemiologists.

Cholera elimination

Despite progress, Haiti remains behind the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of access to potable water and sanitation, according to PAHO.

Far below the regional average, some 35 per cent of Haitians lack basic drinking water services and two-thirds have limited or no sanitation services.

“While cholera is under control for now, we must collectively remain alert and ready to maintain this status and verify elimination”, stressed Dr. Etienne.

To end cholera in Haiti, with validation from the World Health Organization (WHO) for eliminating the disease, the country must maintain effective surveillance systems and remain cholera-free for two more years, which would equal three years in total.

Early detection and response to any possible flare-ups must continue and clean water and sanitation for all Haitian people is key to preventing the transmission of cholera, and other water-borne diseases, in the long-term.

“Only when we ensure all Haitians enjoy access to clean water and sanitation can we breathe more freely”, concluded the PAHO chief.

Last week, the UN marked the tenth anniversary of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, and the UN chief Antonio Guterres said during his speech at a ceremony in New York, that the UN deeply regretted “the loss of life and suffering caused” by the epidemic, which began in 2010, and is widely believed to have been imported by UN peacekeepers.

The drive for quality education worldwide, faces ‘mammoth challenges’

“The education sector is wrestling with mammoth challenges worldwide”, said Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, in his message for the day.

Listing them, he said there was a “precipitate decline” in the quality and standards of education; a widening knowledge gap between students in technically advanced societies and those in developing countries; a crisis of learning in conflict zones; growing school bullying, and “the declining esteem of the teaching profession” overall.

Mr. Muhammad-Bande maintained that today’s education must “bridge the yawning gap” between the modern employment needs for specialized skills, and actual learning opportunities.

“School curricula have yet to anticipate and respond to workplace needs for hands-on, vocational, ICT applications, and sundry technical skills, while still advancing the traditional scholastic pursuits”, he stated.

Moreover, he highlighted, “the significance of the deficits in education outcome becomes obvious when viewed alongside the spiralling population crisis”.

Education in a crisis

The fate of school children trapped in conflict zones deserves even more urgent attention.

According to UNICEF, in 2017, 500 attacks were staged on schools in 20 countries worldwide. In 15 of those 20, troops and rebel forces turned classrooms into military posts.

Thousands of children were recruited to fight, sometimes made to serve as suicide bombers, or forced to endure direct attacks.

“The learning environment may also be rendered unsafe by gun-toting, machete-wielding, gangs and unruly youths, and by sexual predators on school premises”, Mr. Muhammad-Bande said.

And natural disasters pose additional threats to the learning environment.

Fixing the learning crisis – Assembly President recommendations:

Ensure instruction does not decline.
Align school curricula and work needs for competencies and skills.
Promote gender equality, social mobility, inter-cultural understanding.
Safeguard that persons with disabilities are included in education.
Respond to learning challenges caused by conflict and weather.
Enhance the capacities of education systems working in tandem with Governments, education planners and administrators.
Bridge the current gender, digital and financing gaps in education.

Cyclones, hurricanes and storms are among the climatic conditions that periodically wreak havoc on school buildings and facilities, making learning difficult, if not impossible.

“The choices that education stakeholders make have direct impact on various social groups, particularly, disadvantaged groups like rural communities, the urban poor, persons with disabilities, and women”, upheld the PGA, noting that nearly two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults are female, mostly in under-developed countries.

Choice also becomes critical in the struggle to elevate the status of the teaching profession, recruit competent and motivated teachers, and expose teachers to innovative techniques.

But there are bright spots he said: “Forward-looking education policies have contributed to the attainment of SDG targets in some countries”, asserted Mr. Muhammad-Bande.

And participants at this year’s International Day of Education are given the opportunity “to share international good practices in inclusive quality education”.

Partnerships are key

Education enhances the “analytical, inventive and critical thinking capacities of human beings”, the Assembly President said, adding that in the process, it accelerates each nation’s technological attainments and economic growth.

“When a society remains perpetually under-developed, it must among other things re-evaluate its education system”, said Mr. Muhammad-Bande. “If the system is dysfunctional or does not facilitate the acquisition of pertinent knowledge and skills, the economy will, at best, stagnate, and at worst, collapse”.

Bearing in mind the “tremendous amount of work” that lies ahead, he shared his belief that partnerships can play an important role in implementing and attaining the SDGs, which is why his office “has placed strong emphasis on engendering partnerships across key priority areas”, including education.

In conclusion, Mr. Muhammad-Bande urged Member States and other key partners to examine the feasibility and value-added support in establishing a network of key existing education networks to exchange information and ideas, “including sources of support, relating to all aspects of education”.

Power of education

“Education has the power to shape the world”, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed spelled out at the podium.

“Education protects men and women from exploitation in the labour market” and “empowers women and gives them opportunities to make choices”, she said.

Moreover, it can help change behaviour and perceptions, thereby fighting climate change and unsustainable practices. A quality experience in the classroom helps promote mutual respect and understanding between people; combat misperceptions, prejudice and hate speech; and prevent violent extremism.

“Without education, we cannot achieve any of the SDGs”, Ms. Mohammed flagged.

And yet, with 2030 looming on the horizon, the world is lagging behind, prompting the Secretary-General to issue a global call for a Decade of Action, to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs.

“The situation in education is alarming…because of the crisis in the number of children, young people and adults who are not in education”, as well as because many who are, are not learning.

And refugees and migrants face additional challenges.

According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the proportion of refugees enrolled in secondary education is 24 per cent, only three per cent of whom have access to higher education.

“We have the power to shape education, but only if we work together and really bring the partnerships that are necessary to provide quality education”, she concluded. “We have a duty to step up our efforts, so that quality education for all is no longer a goal for tomorrow, but a reality”.

Invest in education

Action for “the four Ps on which our future depends”, namely people, prosperity, the planet and peace, is imperative, according to the head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO in her Friday message.

Although education is “a valuable resource for humanity”, Director-General Audrey Azoulay pointed out that it is “all too scarce for millions of people around the world”.

A global learning crisis, confirmed by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, is a major cause for concern as it is also a crisis for prosperity, for the planet, for peace and for people”, she said, urging everyone to take action for education “because education is the best investment for the future”.

UNESCO has been charged with coordinating the international community’s efforts to achieve SDG 4, quality education for all.

“First and foremost”, the UNESCO chief said, “our Organization takes action for people, by making education an instrument of inclusion and, therefore, of empowerment”.

Changing lives, transforming communities

For her part, Mona Juul, President of the UN Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC, maintained that education is “the most powerful means to escape poverty”.

“It changes lives, transforms communities and paves the way towards productive, sustainable and resilient societies in which children – girls and boys – can reach their full potential”, she expanded, urging everyone to strengthen their efforts to manifest a world in which every child receives a quality education that allows growth, prosperity, empowerment and so they can “make meaningful contributions to communities big and small, everywhere”.

Combatting antisemitism requires ‘solidarity in the face of hatred’, says UN chief

As we see a deeply worrying resurgence in antisemitic attacks around the world, “solidarity in the face of hatred is needed today more than ever”, the UN chief told an annual Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony at New York City’s historic Park East Synagogue.

He reflected upon the resurgence of neo-Nazis and white supremacists spreading venomous ideology and memes online that “poison young minds”.

While the world is revolted by the horrific details of the Auschwitz death camps, Mr. Guterres maintained that everyone must look, learn and relearn the lessons of the Holocaust, so that it is never repeated.

He said that because prejudice and hatred thrive on insecurity, frustrated expectations, ignorance and resentment, leadership that fosters social cohesion and addresses the root causes of hatred, is needed at all levels.

An investment by all parts of society towards rooting out rising antisemitism, can be made, and done in a spirit of mutual respect, Mr. Guterres noted.

Auschwitz liberation

In the lead up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on Monday, the UN launched a poignant photo exhibition commemorating 75 years since Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi extermination camp, was liberated.

More than 1.1 million people were estimated to have been murdered in that one camp in occupied Poland, nine out of ten of them Jews.

Today, collective action against antisemitism and other forms of bias continues to be important for the dignity and human rights of all people everywhere.

Myanmar: Departing UN rights expert still hopeful for democratic transition

Yanghee Lee was speaking in Bangladesh on Thursday at the end of her last official visit to the region as the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar.

“I have lost my optimism”, she said. “How could I be optimistic with ongoing credible allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly genocide having been committed in Myanmar, and with justice and accountability still not yet within reach?

“But I still hold out hope that the promised democratic transition will proceed, as it is not too late for the Government to change the course it is currently set to. The Myanmar Government must face up to its responsibilities, obligations and duties.”

Entry denied

Ms. Lee was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2014 and will deliver her final report in March.

Her mandate falls under what is known as the Council’s Special Procedures, an independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanism to address specific country situations or thematic issues.

Special Rapporteurs are not UN staff, serve in their own capacity, and are not paid for their work.

She had conducted biannual visits to Myanmar until being denied entry from December 2017 onwards.

As she was again barred from entering for her final visit, Ms. Lee travelled to Thailand and Bangladesh to gather information about the situation in Myanmar.

The end of her mission coincided with a decision by the UN’s top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ordering Myanmar to protect its Rohingya population from genocide.

More than 700,000 members of the mainly Muslim minority group fled Rakhine state in northern Myanmar nearly three years ago following a reported crackdown by the military, known as the Tatmadaw, in response to deadly attacks against police and security posts carried out by separatists known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army.

Ms. Lee has welcomed the ICJ decision.

Refugees want to return

During her final mission, the rights expert met with scores of refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, who spoke of the horrors they had suffered.

“I met with male survivors of sexual violence. They told me of the rape and gang rape that they endured at the hands of the Myanmar military and security forces in Rakhine”, said Ms. Lee. “I also met Rohingya Christians who told me they were persecuted by the Myanmar Government due to their religion.

“Refugees I spoke to were firm about their deep desire to return home. However, I was informed of ongoing violence, continuing restrictions on movement, forced imposition of National Verification Cards, and people being killed and injured by landmines in northern Rakhine. Conditions remain unsuitable for their return.”

Intensifying conflict between the separatist Arakan Army in Rakhine and national armed forces is having a devastating impact, she said, which has been worsened by Government restrictions that include internet shutdown and blocking aid in some townships.

“I am also very worried about both sides engaging in disturbing tactics including abductions and mass arrests, and how this is instilling fear in the civilian population”, she added.

Hopes for free and fair elections

Ms. Lee observed that while the Myanmar authorities have taken steps towards international justice and accountability in recent years, more action is still needed.

With elections slated for this year, she called on the Government to ensure the vote is peaceful, credible, free and fair, and that all people can participate in the process.

“Some people told me they are worried that polling may not be allowed in parts of Rakhine and Shan for security reasons”, she said.

“If that occurs, distrust towards the next government and community grievances and marginalization that already exist are only going to grow stronger, and this will further hamper efforts to move forward in the democratic transition and peace process”.

Top UN court orders Myanmar to protect Rohingya from genocide

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also ordered authorities to prevent the destruction of evidence related to genocide allegations.

The case against Myanmar was brought to the ICJ in November by The Gambia, on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), arguing that the mainly-Muslim Rohingya had been subjected to genocide.

The Rohingya primarily reside in Rakhine state in northern Myanmar, a majority Buddhist country.

More than 700,000 members fled to neighbouring Bangladesh following a reported military crackdown in August 2017 during which numerous alleged human rights abuses were committed.

According to news reports, around 600,000 Rohingya remain inside the country, and remain extremely vulnerable to attacks and persecution, said the court.

In its ruling, the ICJ imposed “provisional measures” against Myanmar, ordering the country to comply with obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Myanmar is urged to “take all measures within its power” to prevent the killing of Rohingya, or causing bodily or mental harm to members of the group, including by the military or “any irregular armed units”.

The country also has to submit a report to the ICJ within four months, with additional reports due every six months “until a final decision on the case is rendered by the Court.”

Aung San Suu Kyi testimony

Last December, Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, testified at the start of court proceedings on behalf of her country and described the case as “an incomplete and misleading factual picture” of events in Rakhine state.

She told the court military leaders would be put on trial if found guilty, stressing that “if war crimes have been committed, they will be prosecuted within our own military justice system.”

Thursday’s ruling amounts to a rejection of those arguments, and the ICJ’s orders are binding on Myanmar, despite being provisional.

The court’s orders are subject to assessment by the UN Security Council., although a final judgement in the case is expected to take years, according to news reports.

Court decision is binding: UN Secretary-General

UN chief António Guterres has welcomed the court decision, his spokesman said in a statement.

“The Secretary-General strongly supports the use of peaceful means to settle international disputes. He further recalls that, pursuant to the (UN) Charter and to the Statute of the Court, decisions of the Court are binding and trusts that Myanmar will duly comply with the Order from the Court,” it said.

The Secretary-General will transmit the notice about the provisional measures to the UN Security Council.

Role of the Court

The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and is commonly known as the world court.

It settles legal disputes submitted by States and gives advisory opinions on legal questions referred by UN entities.

The Court is composed of 15 judges, elected to nine-year terms, and is based in The Hague, in the Netherlands.

Myanmar rights expert concludes mission

Relatedly, an independent human rights expert on Thursday concluding her final mission as the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar.

Yanghee Lee’s last request to enter the country was denied by the Government, and she visited Thailand and Bangladesh to gather information about the situation in Myanmar from both sides of the border.

“Myanmar’s denial of access has not dissuaded me from doing everything I can to impartially report to the international community accurate first-hand information that has been provided to me during my visits to the region,” she said.

“My mission and the end of my tenure come at a critical time for human rights in Myanmar and I will continue to strive to do my utmost to improve the situation.”

Ms. Lee was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2014 and conducted biannual visits to Myanmar until she was denied entry from December 2017.

She will deliver her final report to the Geneva-based Council in Geneva in March.

Month: January 2020